Fiber working unit



1 March 9, 1954 J RQCKQFF 2,671,249

FIBER WORKING UNIT Filed M01 12, 1949 FIG.2

INVENTOR. JOSEPH ROCKOFF UNITED STATES PATENT omce Joseph lookoflynsyton, Ohio, allignor to The Dayton Rubber Company, a cor oration of Ohio Application November 12, 1949, No. 126,808

Claims. (0]. 19-443) elements of the type described for use in the drafting of all textile fibers.

In the drafting of textile fibers, drawing frames are commonly utilized which include anumber, of spaced pairs of drawing rolls. The upper roll of each pair usually has a resilient working surface composed of cork, leather, or synthetic rubher. In the past cots made of leather or cork were extensively used but these materials possessed certain disadvantages, including poor abrasion and wear resistance. Attempts to substitute natural rubber compositions and other materials were not successful because natural rubber in particular is readily attacked by oil and tends to develop a gummy surface during use in the drafting of fibers.

Certain types of synthetic rubber which were resistant to oil were tried, such as neoprene, thiokol, and the like. These materials while possessing satisfactory oil resistance and having good wearing qualities, were not suitable because during use they developed excessive eyebrowing and possessed a tendency to lap up the fiber being worked. Eyebrowin g" is the term applied by the textile industry to the condition which results from the failure of a cot to carry short fibers to the top clearer with the result that the short fibers gather and hang down over the roll. As the size of the eyebrow increases it will eventually touch the yarn and bunches it was found that cots and other textile machine units which incorporated as an essential constituent a synthetic rubber of the butadiene acrylic nitrile copolymer' type. would provide products having increased resistance to eyebrowing M lapping. These products would also at the s time have a high oil resistance and good wearing qualities. It was found, however, that despite the improvement obtained by the use of this type of synthetic rubber some tendency to lappin up would still remain, and that this was particularly noticeable in the drafting of rayon fibers.

In accordance with the present invention it was discovered that synthetic rubbers of the conjugated diolefin polymer and copolymer type including the polymers and copolymers of halogen substituted conjugated diolefins, would function satisfactorily in the working surfaces of textile go rolls or cots, aprons, and the like, and pro- 5 with sulfur chloride. It was found that when of short fibers will be pulled into the yarn with resultant impairment. Lapping up" is the condition which occurs as the result of the tendency of the fibers to cling to the surface of the textile element and to wind up around it. This condition is commonly attributed to factors inherent vide substantially improved resistance to lapping. if these rubbers were modified by the incorporation of minor proportions of vulcanized fatty oils which had been obtained by vulcanization minor proportions of sulfur chloride vulcanized fatty oils of the type commonly known as white factice were incorporated with synthetic rubberlike materials of the type described, preferably in minor proportions, the textile fiber drafting elements which were produced utilizing the resultant composition were excellent in all essential respects for the drafting of textile fibers. The products possessed high oil resistance and were extremely flexible and uniform under varying conditions of temperature and humidity. Any tendency for lapping up while using rayon or other long staple fibers was substantially eliminated. In short, it was found that the incorporation of the white factice in the synthetic rubber compounds in the manner described herein imparted highly desirable and improved surface characteristics to the resultant product.

The term factice is commonly applied to vulcanized fatty oils useful for certain purposes as rubber substitutes or the like. Brown factice is generally prepared by mixing a fatty oil with V sulfur and subjecting the mixture to heat for the purpose of vulcanization. White factice is prepared by treating a fatty oilwith sulfur chloride as the vulcanizing agent generally in the presence of a stabilizer, suchas an oxide, hydroxide, or carbonate of an alkaline earth metal, to neutralize the acid formed during the manufacturing operation. This reaction is gen- 3 erally carried out at ordinary temperatures. The oil ingredients usually utilized are the nonmineral fatty oils including vegetable, fish, or animal oils, such as tung oil, linseed oil, soyabean oil. rapeseed oil, olive oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, coconut oil, "castor oil, fish oils, and other natural oils of animal or vegetable origin. Certain synthetic fatty oils may also be utilized such as the synthetic glycerin esters of fatty acids and fatty acid esters formed with other polyhydric alcohols. The white factice may be manufactured by methods well known to the prior art, for example, such as described in Patent #l,869,557.

It was also discovered that the improved resuits referred to would be obtained only by the use of white factice and that brown factice, even though somewhat similar in composition and properties, was not at all effective for the purpou.

In the manufacture of the modified rubber compound for use in the fabrication of the novel textile machine elements referred to herein, the white factice is properly milled into the desired type of synthetic rubber together with conventional rubber additives, such as sulfur, zinc oxide, accelerators, plasticizers, igments, fillers and the like. The resulting compound is then formed into cots, aprons, or other textile units in the manner known to the art; for example, in the manner shown in patent to Rockoif #2304556, Bacon #2369535, or Bacon and Rockoif #2484310, utilizing the composition of the present invention for the working surface of the unit. or as the entire rubber component if desired.

Synthetic rubber-like materials with which the white factice may be incorporated are the polymers of the aliphatic conjugated dienes and their halogen substituted products, having the formula H:C=CRCH=CH:, wherein R is a hydrogen, a halogen, or a methyl radical, or their ccpolymers with monomers copolymerizable therewith having a reactive ethylenic double bond, such as the acrylic acid esters, styrene, acrylic nitrile, etc. These will include the butadiene, chloroprene and isoprene polymers and their copolymers, such as butadiene-acrylonitrile (commonly known as GRA or perbunan) butadiene-styrene (commonly known as GRS or Buna-S), polychloroprene (commonly known as neoprene), etc.

In general, the white factice is incorporated in minor proportions with respect to the synthetic rubber and preferably proportions of from to 50 parts of factice for each 100 parts of rubber may be utilized. a

In the drawing:

Figure 1 illustrates a view in perspective of a typical spinning cot having the covering partially in cross section at one end.

Figure 2 shows a view in perspective of a typical drafting apron.

In Figure 1 of the drawing II is the synthetic rubber-factice composition roll cover or cot, I2 is the core or arbor upon which the cot is applied.

In Figure 2 of the drawing, a pair of drafting aprons l4 and I! are shown arranged in aCasablancas type drafting s stem. Knurled driving roll l1 drives apron I! about fixed metal bar ISA; at the same time apron i4 is driven about fixed metalbar I3 byroll ll,theflbers passing between the opposed aprons. Aprons II and II are fabricated with the working surfaces thereof composed of or comprising the synthetic rubber-white factice composition described herein.

The following examples will illustrate typical modes of compounding the composition of which the present products are formed (proportions referred to are by weight) I Perbunan (butadiene acryionitrile copolymer 72% butadiene. 27% acrylic nitrile) Sulphur; 2 Zinc oxide 10 Benzcthiasyl disulphide 2 White vulcanized oil (sulfur chloride vulcanized rapseed oil type) 30 Dibutyl phthalate 10 Whiting 100 ning frame. The rolls which contained the white factice performed satisfactorily without signs of lapping or eyebrowing for a. period of several months. On theother hand, a cot of the same composition without the white factice caused the rayon fibers to la up during operation. The same composition was compounded using 30 parts of brown factice (rapeseed oil type) instead of the white factice. The product was found to be no better than the, one without any factice as far as lapping or eyebrowing'was concerned.

Neoprene (polymerized chloroprene) 100 Magnesium oxide 10 Zinc oxide 10 White vulcanized oil (sulfur chloride vulcanizedrapeseed oil type) 30 Mineral oi 10 Soft clay 60 Comparative tests for adherence to rayon and other fibers were made using neoprene compounded as above both with and without the white factice. This test was carried out by applying the finished cot under pressure to a mass of fibers to determine whether any fibers will adhere to the cot when it is removed. The neoprene cot containing no factice showed substantial tendency to pick up and adhere to cotton and rayon fibers. On the other hand, the cot in which the factice had been incorporated showed no such tendency. The relative performance characteristics of the neoprene cot with and without white factice was demonstrated by prolonged tests carried out in commercial type spinning frames and the elimination of lapping was clearly proven. When the white factice in the compound was replaced by brown factice, no improvement in lapping or eyebrowing properties was obtained.

Comparisons similar to Examples I and II on aprons made with the other types of synthetic rubber referred to clearly indicated the same degree of improvement with respect to "eyebrowing" and "lapping properties.

I claim:

1. A fiber working unit for textile machines having a surface layer comprising a vulcanized synthetic rubber having intimately incorporated therein white factice in the proportion of 5 to 50 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the synthetic rubber.

2. A spinning cot according to claim 1 wherein the synthetic rubber is a butadiene-acrylic nitrile copolymer.

3. A textile apron according to claim 1 wherein the synthetic rubber is a butadiene-acrylic nitrile copolymer.

4. A spinning cot comprising a synthetic rubber-like poiychloroprene having white factice incorporated therein in the proportion of 5 to 50 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the rubber-like material.

5. A textile apron comprising synthetic'rubberlike polychioroprene having white factice incorporated therein in the proportion of 5 to 50 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight 01' the rubberlike material.

JOSEPH ROCKOFF.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,869,557 Gillespie Aug. 2, 1932 2,012,223 Cutler Aug. 20, 1935 2,304,656 Rockoif Dec. 8, 1942 2,353,462 Harkins July 11. 1944 2,436,456 Soday Feb. 24, 1948 OTHER REFERENCES Fillers and Their Functions," pages 411-413 of The India-Rubber Journal, Sept. 20, 1930. 

1. A FIBER WORKING UNIT FOR TEXTILE MANCHINES HAVING A SURFACE LAYER COMPRISING A VULCANIZED SYNTHETIC RUBBER HAVING INTIMATELY INCORPORATED THEREIN WHITE FACTICE IN THE PROPORTION OF 5 TO 50 PARTS BY WEIGHT PER 100 PARTS BY WEIGHT OF THE SYNTHETIC RUBBER. 